Change by Design
by Tim Brown
Like we discussed towards the start of the semester, good design requires a new way of looking at a problem. This is the main idea of Tim Brown’s book Change by Design.
He calls for people to not simply be designers but to be “design thinkers”. This is Brown’s term for a new way people should approach problems to achieve maximum results when creating. He uses ‘mind maps’ as an example of how people should approach things differently. Instead of thinking linearly, design thinkers look for interconnectedness between ideas to get a better sense of the whole.
Without design thinking, many companies do not look at problems holistically; they see only one aspect, which leads a company to not entirely solve a problem or not successfully solve it. As a design thinker, one needs to approach a problem from the viewpoint of the person experiencing it; don’t simply conduct surveys, but go through the steps of something to find the problem the consumer is facing. Then, for a design team of design thinkers, it goes beyond just innovating the product, but re-thinking the entire customer experience, including inside the store. This process can be encompassed in three iterative steps: inspiration, ideation, and implementation.
In going through this iterative process it is importantly to consider a problem divergently. Look for many solutions in the beginning stages. Come up with as many creative ways to solve a problem as possible and allow them to build on each other. Then, with all the possible ideas on the table, narrow it down with the different constraints — budget, time, feasibility etc.
Once a possible solution to the problem has been agreed upon, it is important to begin prototyping at an early stage. This way the team does not get trapped into a failed idea. Cheaply and frequently, prototype ideas so that flaws in the product can be caught early on and the invention can be adapted. Or so that a product that will ultimately fail can be squashed before too much time and money is invested.
The next point Brown stressed is to include all members of a business in the creation process. A design team needs to incorporate people from different backgrounds with different experiences so that new ideas can be generated. Another great way to accomplish this besides designating lots of design teams is to have a culture of innovation. Be encouraging of all employees to come up with new ideas and share them.
Design thinking has the ability to solve the world’s greatest problems and also to make day-to-day life better for everyone. Everyone needs to begin thinking outside of the box.
Get the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Change-Design-Tim-Brown-ebook/dp/B002PEP4EG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412868217&sr=1-1&keywords=change+by+design
